Ni No Kuni: Neko Monogatari
by ladyanaconda
Summary: All her life she lived in a palace, and yet she wanted to explore the world with her own eyes. Against her father's wishes, she left her lifelong home and see out on a journey to discover who she is, and learn that home is where your heart is. This is the tale or princess Cloe, daughter of King Tom XIV.
1. Prologue

Ni No Kuni: Neko Monogatari

The night had already started in the Other World; the full moon was high in the sky, sharing its light will all the inhabitants of the land. Monsters that roamed the prairies went back to their dens for sleep, and the grasslands were taken over by monsters that preferred the cold, beautiful night rather than the cold, unfeeling light of the sun.

In the middle of those grasslands, there was a town, known as Ding Dong Dell, the reign of King Tom XIV. The curious thing about that place was that it was not only inhabited by humans, but by cats; not the type of cats we all know, however. The cats there were just like humans: they talked, wore clothing to cover their furry bodies and had personalities of their own. The King himself was a cat, beloved by his subjects and those that served him.

But this story is not about him; not at all.

This story is about his one, and only, beloved daughter.

Baby crying echoed through the halls of the castle, which sometimes were drowned by the roaring of the thunderstorm outside.

Every time the thunders released their wrath on the land, the crying became louder, as if its owner wanted to compete with the mighty roars of the lighting. The raindrops splashed against the stained-glass windows, which had drawings and decorations in the shape of different types of fish. But the colorful display did not sooth the baby, whose crying continued endlessly.

King Tom didn't usually wake up in the middle of the night, he was known for sleeping like a rock; there was nothing that could wake him up when sleeping. In fact, even in an earthquake occurred in the middle of the night, he wouldn't react a all. But as soon as he heard his baby crying, he put his exhaustion aside and got out of bed, heading towards the crib that was on the right side of his bed. Letting out a yawn, the cat king peeked into the crib to check on his child.

On the crib, there was a few-days-old kitten. She took mostly after her mother, with white fur, a bushy tail and a pink nose; however, one of the traits she inherited from her father was his stripes, which in her were colored of a dark gray tone. Her eyes wouldn't open for one more week, so it was still a mystery whether she had her mother or her father's eyes. The kitty shifted under her covers, snuffling with tiny tears.

"There, there, it's alright, little one," the cat king took his young daughter in his arms, and held her close to his chest, "Daddy's here, daddy's got you. "

Even though she could not yet see, that did not mean she was deaf as well; her hearing sense was already well developed, and she had learned to recognize her father's voice. As soon as he spoke to her, the kitten started to calm down, but when another thunder roared, she cried even louder than before; King Tom realized what was upsetting his daughter.

"_She's afraid of thunder, it seems_," he thought, taking a short glance at the storm rampaging outside, "_Just like her mother was…_"

Remembering it might have been enough to make him laugh, but he cast the thought aside for the moment and started rocking his daughter softly. "Shh, do not cry, sweetie. One's here for you, and one will never leave you."

He spoke to her like this for a while, intending for her to ignore the sound of the lighting, going as far as to close his curtains so that the lightings would not illuminate the room. The kitten kept crying for a while, but eventually her crying died down, and before her father knew it, she let out a big yawn, showing her toothless gums, and snuggled against her father's furry chest before falling asleep, not listening to the lighting's cries any longer.

King Tom smiled as he gently placed his baby back on the crib, tucking her in as best as he could. The kitten shifted when she felt her father's touch, then remained motionless once again, except for her chest rising from her breathing. King Tom kissed her cheek gently, ran his fingers through her silver fur once more time and returned to his bed just as the storm that was rampaging outside minutes ago died down, the dark clouds making way for the blue moon.

* * *

**6 years later...**

* * *

A kitten stood on the balcony of the palace, resting her elbows on the railing. She stared out unblinkingly over the long prairies and forests that extended through her father's kingdom, to the horizon that molted seamlessly with the mountains. Below, the citizens of Ding Dong Dell were already preparing for the night, calling out for their loved ones to come for dinner, locking their doors tightly and turning off the lights of their homes. The wind buffeted her, blowing her skirt and ruffling her silvery white fur, but she did not move. She stared intently, almost as if searching for something.

Suddenly she straightened, her bushy tail flicking in excitement and her face lighting up with joy. A white dove fluttered up from the courtyard of the castle and soared up into the sky. The kitten stretched out her paws to it, as though begging it to take her away with it, but the dove flew unconcernedly past her, higher and higher into the sky, until it was lost from sight. The kitten's arms dropped back to he r sides and her face fell once more. Slowly, dragging her feet, she walked towards the door at the end of the balcony. She stopped as though struck by a sudden idea, and turned to look out over the prairies once more. This time, she looked downward: the town gates. She approached the railings once more, the intent look coming back onto her face.

The kitten was suddenly creeping through the seemingly endless corridors and halls of the palace. Human guards roamed the halls illuminated by torches and lamps, but she avoided them, keeping to the shadows. The only way to get out was through her father's throne room, which immediately led outside to town, to freedom. The throne room was empty, with no guards and, luckily, not her father either. the gate was open, and she could swear she saw the moonlight bathing the bridge that led into the main square. The kitten paused, catching her breath, in the shadow of the throne room, and then dashed out on to the bridge. She ran as fast as she could, but before she had even reached the bridge, a force lifted her a few inches from the ground, and she was pulled back into the castle, into her 'golden cage', to the throne room. But she did not stop there. The force pulled her through the palace's corridors once more; she was carried upstairs, passing by the awestruck guards who just stared as their princess was carried away.

The kitten would have fallen asleep if she hadn't finally landed. But as she stood up, shaking the dust off her pink dress, she slowly realized where she had been carried to; turning around nervously, she was encountered by sky blue eyes, staring at her in disappointment, but not anger. He had never gone that far.

King Tom placed his wand, one of his most cherished possessions, on his night shelf, and crossed his arms while giving his daughter a disapproving look, "Cloe, one thought we already had this conversation already."

The kitten, named Cloe, flattened her ears against her head, and smiled awkwardly, "Uh…" she whispered shyly, "Yesterday, I think."

Despite the tense air, the cat King couldn't help but let out a small laugh, but soon he regained his serious look, "And so…?"

Cloe's smile faded away, and she guiltily looked down, not wanting to face her father right then, "I… I disobeyed you again, daddy. I'm sorry."

King Tom's eyes softened up upon seeing his daughter so sad; he had never had the heart to actually be truly mad at her, he could not bring himself to even yell at her. He just loved her too much for that… Sighing heavily, he took a few steps towards his child and gently picked her up, taking her in his arms, and bringing her to his bed. He sat on the fine silk mattress, placing the kitten in his lap.

"Do you know why one can't let you out of the palace, Cloe?" he softly spoke, caressing his daughter's fur gingerly.

"Because it's… dangerous?"

The cat ruler nodded, "That's right, and do you know why?"

"For the monsters roaming outside town, right?"

"Exactly. One just can't bear the thought of losing you, my child." This time, when he spoke, he gained a forlorn tone, "One promised your mommy one would always protect you."

Cloe grew sad when her father mentioned her mother; she had noticed that wherever he mentioned her, he spoke with sadness and longing in his voice, and she swore sometimes he would even get close to tears. The kitten had no memories of her mother at all, but she didn't have the nerve to ask her father, and bring him hurtful memories.

"But…" Cloe's ears flattened once more, "It's just that… sometimes I'd like to see the world outside, daddy. Not in books, but with my own eyes."

The cat king remained silent, not taking his eyes off his daughter. After a while, he smiled and held the kitten close, "Tell you what; One will let you go to town when you're 10."

Cloe's eyes lit up with hope, and she turned to look at her father straight in the eyes, "Really?"

"With one condition," King Tom continued s he flicked his bushy tail, "Do not try to sneak out again, please. One fears _he_ will take you away, dear."

Cloe's eyes started to shutter, let out a yawn and snuggled against her father before replying, "Okay."

King Tom smiled once again as he gently picked Cloe up and softly placed her upon his bed; the kitten shifted when her father tucked her in the red velvet covers, then nuzzled her cheek softly.

"Sweet dreams, my little pumpkin."

The cat King sighed in sadness, he stared at his sleeping daughter, and how she constantly shifted and let out yawns under the covers. After a while, he rested next to her, yet he did not feel tired. All that paperwork had not exhausted him as much as he thought it would. King Tom set his eyes on something else, which hung from his wall.

"_My love_…" he thought, feeling as though he wanted to cry, but he had no tears left, "_My Queen…_"

The female cat in the picture had silvery white fur, and warm purple eyes that were like jewels. Her body was slim, and she wore a lilac silk dress, with golden trimming that had the shapes of flowers. Her long, sleek tail was wrapped around her well-proportioned legs. She had a smile drawed on her lips.

"_Cleopawtri_…" King Tom felt his heart squirming as he examined her smiling face, he had always loved her laugh, "_One will never let anything happen to our child. That's a promise._"


	2. Broken Heart

Neko Monogatari

Chapter 2- Broken Heart

"_You know, Cloe, before you were born, your mother and one used to travel quite a lot."_

_Cloe looked up at her father from his lap, taking her gaze off the sun hiding over the horizon, "Did you, daddy?"_

"_Yep. We went to Al-Mamoon, Hamelin, and various other places. But one must tell you, sweetie, Hamelin is not exactly one's favorite place. The air makes one feel dizzy…" King Tom sighed, remembering the first time he had put a paw inside the mechanical city, how he was almost knocked out cold by the smoke entering his lungs._

"_Did you go to Yule?"_

_King Tom smiled fondly at the memory, "Yule? That was one's favorite place! Even your mother adored it; the snow, the igloos, but the most beautiful thing of all… The boreal auroras. One took your mother for a walk in the forest and we witnessed an spectacle of color lights, high above the sky. Unfortunately, we stayed there for so long that in the morning we got the cat flu."_

"_Daddy… Would you take me to Yule someday?" Cloe asked as she wrapped her arms around her father's massive body in her standards_

_The cat king ruffled his daughter's fur playfully and replied, "One will, my little pumpkin… One will…_"

Cloe sighed forlornly as she stared at the rising sun, remembering that day. Had it been so long? She felt as though it had been yesterday, instead of ten years. Her father had promised to take her to Yule someday, but by then, she though he had probably forgotten about that promise long ago.

Age had taken its toll on the young cat princess, now sixteen. She had grown in height, reaching her father's chest, and her body had also changed greatly by the pass of time. Her body, her waist and back particularly, had become quite curved, and her tail had grown long, now gracefully curving wherever she flickered it. Even though her fur remained mostly unchanged, her stripes had gained a more brownish tone to it, almost like her father's, but with a more grayish look. Her ears were pointy, and twitched in a gracious way when she moved them. She had already grown breasts, but they were not very big at all, at least compared to other female cats'…

In other words, Cloe had grown into a beautiful young cat, but she was still a long way from being considered an adult.

The princess rested on the grass and felt it tickle her; her eyes stared at the sky endlessly, worried about her father. Since she could remember, they had always been very close, but lately, something was… off with him. He would rest on his throne most of the time (save for breakfast, lunch and dinnertime, but even then he seemed to be tired), take various naps thorough the day, and now he rarely took time to spend with her. Before King Tom became like this, he would often make excuses to avoid going to a meeting or miss his paperwork just to spend time with his daughter. Oh, how she missed those days…

"_When did everything go wrong…?_" Cloe though sadly, letting out a forlorn sigh.

The sound of footsteps crushing the grass caught her attention; for one moment, Cloe had hoped her father had come to check on her, but she could tell by the weight of the footsteps that it was not her father at all, but her nanny.

The old woman that had taken care of her since she was a baby, Maora, despite having about sixty-eight years old, was still full of life. She was rather short, and was barely a few centimeters shorter than Cloe. Her hair was short and gray, and she always wore a bright red dress, with a contrasting cool blue obi tied around her waist, the skirt of the dress blended into sandy yellow tones.

Maora was a strong woman, sure of herself, and she had the tendency to speak directly, or to go 'straight-to-the-point', and at times she could be very serious when the situations called for it. However, she had a softer side, which she showed to those who were close to her; to Cloe, she was like the mother-like figure she couldn't have. Maora herself had come to see the princess as her own child, and was ready to protect and comfort her when she needed it.

Maora sat down next to Cloe and stared at the sky, as if trying to spot whatever the female cat was looking at, "What are you looking for, dear? There doesn't seem to be any monsters flying around here."

Cloe sighed as she sat up, "No, it's not that, Maora… It's jus that I'm worried about my father…"

The old woman looked down in thought; she had an idea of what was wrong with the king, but she was not sure if telling Cloe would be the best course of action. On the other hand, the princess had every right to know what happened to him.

"Cloe, dear… have you ever heard of people being broken-hearted?"

The princess nodded, "Yes. I have read about it. It's when Shadar steals a person's heart from its virtues, making them act like a soulless body…" Cloe felt shivers going down her spine as soon as she mentioned the Dark Djinn's name. His reputation was very dreadful, no one dared to stand up to him. Those who did… she had heard what happened to the Great Sage Alicia.

Maora remained silent for a few minutes, then spoke, "I believe the cause of your father's sudden change of attitude is because he has been… broken-hearted."

She expected Cloe's reaction.

What she _didn't_ expect was what she did next.

After hearing the word broken-hearted, Cloe's fur bristled in shock; previously graceful tail looked like a mess. The cat princess instantly jumped to her feet

, and firmly but gently started shaking her nanny by the shoulders.

"MY FATHER IS BROKENHEARTED?!"

After seeing the look of surprise in the old woman's face, Cloe regained her calm and sat back on the grass, flattening her ears against her head.

"I'm sorry, Maora… It's just that I've been so worried about daddy that I just don't know what to do anymore… I miss the old him."

"Me too, dear… me too. But I'm afraid we don't have a way to lift the curse placed upon your father's heart, all we can do is wait and pray someone can do lift it. Until then, we must be patient."

Cloe sighed in sadness once again as she looked down, after a while she looked at Maora.

"Maora, can do you me a favor?"

The old woman nodded reassuringly, "Of course, honey. Just say it."

"Could do… come with me to speak with my father?"

* * *

_The cat king stared at his sleeping baby, cuddled in his arms, shifting every now and then. She was wrapped in a pink blanket, and snuggled deeply into the warm, protective arms of her father, as if looking for something. _

_King Tom noticed the kitten had a strong resemblance to his beloved Cleopawtri. Her fur, her ears, her face… she had faint tabby marking, like his own, which was rarely visible, but he knew the markings would become darker as she grew. Surprisingly, he still didn't know how he would name her; he had wanted to decide it with Cleopawtri, but she was gone now…_

"_Your Meowjesty?" Maora's voice caught his attention._

_He had told the guards to let no one disturb him; he was not in the mood to receive any visits. But Maora was the exception; he had come to see her as part of his family. She had taken care of him and Cleopawtri since they were kittens, and they came to love her very much. However, this time he did not give her even a single smile, he didn't have the heart right then. He only gave her a glance before setting his eyes on the kitten in his arms._

"_Are you alright?" she asked, but she knew the answer already._

_King Tom gave her an annoyed stare, "How do you think one is, Maora?" he spoke in irritation, refusing to cry in front of the old woman, "Cleopawtri is gone… One couldn't save her…"_

_Maora walked closer to the king's bed, a sorrowful look on her face, and put a hand on his shoulder, "Tom, I'm sorry… But coping around miserably is not going to bring Cleopawtri back, you know."_

_Only a few, privileged people could refer to King Tom by his name, Maora entering that group. Tom closed his eyes shut for a moment, his ears flattened against his head, his tail didn't stop twitching in irritation, for much that he wanted to; wherever he was upset for something, his tail twitched, and it didn't stop. _

_The cat king opened his eyes when he felt his daughter shifting in his arms. Upon looking down, he noticed the kitten has somehow found his paw, and had started nibbling on it, despite not having her teeth yet. For the first time in days, King Tom smiled at the kitten and started playing with her fingers._

_Maora giggled softly when she saw the scene, it seemed the king still had some of his humor inside. Speaking of which, she remembered the baby had not yet a name._

"_Have you thought of any name for her yet?"_

_King Tom's smile slowly faded on realization; he just couldn't refer to his daughter as 'sweetie' all the time, even though he loved it. He would have to name her, but the decision was hard… there were many names he could use, but none of them fitted his daughter, or that was what he thought. He watched as the kitten got a hold of his paw and held it, her ears twitched constantly. She resembled her mother strikingly… and that's when made up his mind._

"…_Cloe," King Tom whispered softly as he started tickling the kitten's nose playfully, "… Her name is Cloe."_

King Tom opened his eyes slowly, letting out a great yawn in the process. He twitched his tail and looked at the ceiling of his throne room, his eyelids heavy, despite having been sleeping more than anything in the last few days. The dream he just had was actually one of the fondest memories he had, the time he had named his daughter. He had always taken care of his child himself, and when he couldn't, Maora was always available -and eager- to do so in his stead. With time, he and his daughter became inseparable.

However, recently, something was keeping him from standing up and going to check on Cloe, like he usually did. He wanted to go and tell her he loved her, that she was his whole world, his everything, yet something rendered him unable to do so. King Tom felt his heart… heavy, and he was starting to think that was the reason of his state.

"Daddy?"

His mood was enlightened when he heard his little girl's voice resounding in his ears; he shifted around in his throne's giant cushion, and managed to get a look to where he heard Cloe's voice come from. She was standing a few steps away from his throne, giving him a look of… worry?

"Is something wrong, sweetie?" King Tom inquired, scratching his chin with his left leg.

Cloe hesitated for a moment, but eventually gathered the courage to speak, "Daddy, can I talk to you for a moment?"

King Tom nodded, "Of course, honey. What do you want to talk about?" saying this, the cat king let out a big yawn, despite not having intended to do so.

"I was wondering… why don't we… you know, go and do something together? Like we used to do…"

Maora was watching from behind one of the massive pillars, hoping the monarch would agree. But in his state, she knew what he would reply.

Like she predicted, Tom let out another yawn and shifted on his cushion, giving his daughter an apologetic look, "One's sorry, sweetie, but right now one is not on the mood to stand up… One's so comfortable…"

Cloe sighed in disappointment and replied, "I… understand, daddy. Sorry for having interrupted your nap."

Maora shook her head forlornly, and sadly watched as Cloe walked back to her, close to tears. As the cat princess passed by, Maora followed her soon after.

King Tom felt a squirming in his heart when he saw his daughter leave like that, he had never liked when his daughter was sad. It always broke his heart seeing her crying. But yet again, there was something keeping him from standing up and going after her. Before he knew it, he was fast asleep again.

* * *

The cat princess twitched her tail slowly as she stared at the tank where her father's favorite fish, a herring of scarlet and crimson scales, was kept. She never understood why her father loved it so much. The red herring was swimming around in front of her, as if wanting to know what was wrong with her. Cloe sighed, at least the fish was actually worried about her. Maora joined her soon after, knowing her princess needed some company, especially after what just happened. She eyed the red herring, who was still swimming in the princess's face.

"Why is my father so fond of that fish, anyway?" Cloe inquired, tapping the glass softly, which startled the fish. Maora giggled as the red herring swam away from the cat princess, hiding behind one of the weeds.

The old woman explained, "When your father and your mother were kittens, they went to one of the lakes nearby to spend the day. I accompanied them to make sure they didn't drown," Maora giggled a bit before continuing, "That's when your mother found the poor fish had washed ashore on the banks of the lake. She took the poor thing and nursed it back to health, but when the fish was back to normal, Cleopawtri found herself attached to it. In the end, Cleopawtri and Tom decided to keep the fish."

Cloe eyed the red herring -which had finally come out of hiding wand was swimming around the tank again- forlornly, "So… it was mom's fish?"

Maora nodded, "Yes. To your father, the red herring is a memento of Cleopawtri, that's why he has kept it all of these years."

Cloe put her paw against the glass of the tank softly, staring at her father's red herring for a while. Maora sighed with the memory; she knew King Tom and Queen Cleopawtri had met young and became friends since childhood-though admittedly they had met outside of any marriage planning, and truthfully the rules were slightly bent and their union allowed since Cleopawtri was a suitable match in class. It was all drawn up to them finding each other before any official appointments could be set up, and of course the matchmaker would've paired them off either way. Maora was brought back from her thoughts when she heard a question leave Cloe's mouth.

"…How was mom like, Maora?"

"Haven't you already asked me that question, dear?" Maora raised an eyebrow, and Cloe blushed.

"Well, it's just that-"

"I understand, dear. You want to hear it again, and I don't object. As for question…" Mao sighed and a small smile was drawn on her face, "She was sweet, friendly and kind; she had the delicacy and grace of her noble lineage, but she was not helpless; she had an independent, courageous side. She stood up for what was right, and she was quick to defend those close to her. Cleopawtri not only was a kind-hearted catwoman, she also had a heavenly beauty. Every men and cat loved and wanted her, but Tom was her first and only love. And your father loved her so much…"

The cat princess stared at the tank, listening to Maora's every word. She had seen her mother's portrait hanging in her father's room, and since she was small she had considered her mother to be more beautiful than any catwoman she had ever seen. There was no wonder why her father had fallen in love with her. Nor for the first time, Cloe wished she had any memories of her mother, but her father and Maora had told her Cleopawtri had died a few hours after she was born; however, they had never disclosed to her how she had died. She guessed it was too painful for the both of them.

Maora spoke once again, "Your father loves that fish very much, dear. I can't imagine what would happen if he were to lose it."

However, the old woman noticed there was something off with the tank… something was missing. However, when she figured out what was wrong, suddenly, before Cloe and the old woman could do something about it, the red herring leaped from its confinement, landing in the water of one of the royal moats that ran through the palace, and swam away.

Cloe's eyes opened wide in horror and she gasped, her ears flattening against her head.

Maora just kept staring at where the fish had jumped, her eyes wide.

King Tom would not like this in the least.


	3. Lost and Found

Neko Monogatari

Chapter 3- Lost and Found

Cloe rushed out of the palace when Maora finally got her to react, not minding to tell her father she was going out. He had given her permission to go out to town for a few hours after she turned ten, but that was it. That time, he had told her not to go beyond the entrance of Ding Dong Dell, which led out into the wilderness, and King Tom had been serious about the whole thing. The first, and only, time Cloe had actually tried to go out her father had grounded her with no dessert for two days.

The cat princess ran through the passages and paths carved with fish drawings and painted cat paw steps, present since Ding Dong Dell's first founding, looking through the small ponds and water channels for the red herring, but finding no trace of it. If her father found out (if he hadn't already), he would probably fall into depression or worse, considering that the fish was a memento of his beloved wife. Eventually, Cloe came to the Swift Solutions building, knowing it had a giant pond where any fish would be easy to spot, especially certain scarlet-colored fish.

As Cloe ran towards the pond, she noticed something strange… a boy a little younger than her was trying to regain his balance atop one of the poles that stuck out of the water, near a small dock (her father had ordered some of his guards to build it since she had a tendency to swim in there) looking around the crystalline waters, as if looking for something… On the dock she spotted a… moving plush? No, it looked like one, but it was not a plush toy. She had a hunch of what it was, but… could it really be.

Flicking her tail, Cloe slowly walked closer to the moat, but just as she was about to take a peek at both the pond and the small creature, her ears twitched to a sound… a splash, and looking up, she spotted her father's beloved fish swimming away.

… Unfortunately, in her surprise, she didn't realize she had walked too close to the edge of the dock, and was she tried to follow the red fish's disappearing colors, Cloe fell headfirst into the moat, startling the boy and causing him to lose his balance, falling into the moat like her.

"Ah!" Drippy cried as he glanced into the moat, looking around for the two, "Ollie-boy! Cat-girl! Where are you?!"

Seconds later, Ollie emerged from the waters, coughing and trying to regain his lost air while looking around for the cat girl who had fallen into the pond alongside him. Cloe almost immediately emerged from the waters, and surprisingly, she didn't need to swim to keep herself above the surface as before. The last time she had been there, before her father changed, she was much shorter.

"Hey!" the boy's voice reached her ears, "Are you alright?!"

Cloe coughed a few more times before she and the boy swam towards the edge of the dock, barely managing to climb without slipping off, and the plushie creature hopped closer to them. Cloe took a look at his face and realized he had a long snout, with a small lantern hanging.

"Are you two alright? For a minute I thought you were goners!"

Almost immediately, Cloe's childish side got the better of her.

"Aw! A fairy!" she quickly picked the fairy up and started examining him, despite his protests, "He's so cute! I've never seen a fairy! Not this close, at least! But he doesn't look like the fairies in the books."

"Excuse me, Cat-girl!" the fairy protested, struggling to get free form Cloe's paws, "I'd thank you if you put me down!" he noticed the boy was giggling, "Don't laugh, Ollie-boy! Help me!"

"I'm sorry!" Cloe put the fairy down, stood and shook off the water from her fur and dress, but her entire body puffed afterwards, earning a few more laughs from the boy and the fairy. The cat princess blushed as she attempted to brush her fur back in place with her paws, "I'm sorry about that."

"It's okay," the boy smiled as he stood up, not minding his dripping clothing, "I'm Oliver, and this is Mr. Drippy."

Finally having managed to put every hair in her body back in place, Cloe smiled and introduced herself, "I'm Cloe, nice to meet you."

"Excuse me, you two," Drippy pulled Oliver's pants softly, "I hate to interrupt, but our fishy friend got away."

Cloe's smile vanished and her fur bristled in horror, "What?!

"You were looking for the king's red herring too?"

"Yeah, I…" Cloe hesitated for a minute, "I'm… one of the servants working in the palace, and I'm supposed to take the fish back." She didn't like lying to her new friends, but people spoke more openly when they spoke with others of their same social position.

"In that case, how about we stick together for a while until we find it?" Drippy suggested, pointing at the path heading towards the palace, "I think he went off towards the palace! After him!"

The trio ran through the pathway, and Cloe was thankfully Oliver and Drippy didn't notice how the residents they passed by bowed as she passed by. But suddenly a question popped in her brain.

"May I ask why are you looking for my fa- the king's red herring?" she inquired

"It's a long story," Oliver replied as they ran, "We need a wand, and Mr. Drippy said the king knew some magic."

"You're a wizard, then?"

"Well, not exactly… I'm still new at that stuff…"

When they reached the main square, Cloe motioned for a different pathway with large fish statues (like the ones in her father's throne room) leading away from the square. There was a possibility that the fish swum all the way there, considering the place at the end of that passage was filled with water.

"Over there," Cloe pointed at the stone pathway, "There's a moat filled with water, it's possible the herring is there."

Oliver nodded, and the trio crossed the stone pathway, climbing a short flight of stairs, and at the summit of the hill, there was a sight that made Oliver gap in awe. It was a large moat, even bigger than the one near the Swift Solutions building, and surrounded by trees and bushes, and water lily pads, fallen leaves and a few flowers, making it look almost look like a moat in a mystical forest. On the middle of the moat was a small hill in which bright green grass grew, rising out of the water, and on the exact middle of the small island there was a tall tombstone… a tombstone Cloe knew too well.

In the middle of the short stone bridge which led to the island, the red herring was hopping helplessly, attempting to return to the water after realizing the boy from before was back. Oliver softly walked closer to the fish and picked it up, "So this is the king's favorite fish, huh?"

"Tidy! That's a red herring if I ever saw one!" Drippy commented, taking a look at the fish, "Now we can get ouerselves an audience with the King! Let's head back and see that palace guard, shall we?"

Cloe didn't listen to what they said, her eyes were fixed on the tombstone. After a few seconds, she heard Oliver calling her name.

"Cloe! Are you coming?"

The cat princess gave the human a small smile, "I'll catch up with you later, Oliver. I have to do something first."

Oliver nodded, before he and Drippy disappeared through the stone stairway, knowing the red herring needed to be returned to its tank before it died of dehydration. Cloe sighed sadly as she walked closer to the tombstone, getting her feet wet again, but she didn't mind. She sat on her knees a few steps away form the tombstones, and was able to read the words carved on it clearly.

_Here lies Queen Cleopawtri_

_Beloved wife and mother._

"What a coincidence, isn't it, mom?" Cloe smiled sadly as she ran a hand through the cold stone, "Your fish came all the way here and became stranded, just like when you and daddy first found it."

Indeed, Maora explained to her once that King Tom had buried Cleopawtri precisely in that place because it was reminiscent of the edge of the lake they had found the red herring, and because he knew she loved whatever had to do with nature. Cloe often went there when she wanted to be alone, but her father and Maora already knew that if she was not in the palace or in town, she was surely there. Her father visited the moat in an almost daily basis, but he spent almost all day there in the day of their wedding anniversary.

The first time she had been there she was only four years old.

"_Daddy, is mommy sleeping there?"_

"_She is, Cloe."_

"_When will she wake up?"_

"_I'm afraid… she won't. She's in a better place now, my little pumpkin."_

The few times she had snuck out of the palace before she turned ten, when she was six, she had come to her mother's tomb, and talked to it as if she thought her mother was listening. She would fall asleep at the end of the day, and Maora or her father would go to pick her up to take her back to her room.

Cloe stood up and walked away, not before leaving a water flower right next to her mother's grave. When she walked down the stairs and emerged into the main square, she spotted Oliver and Drippy next to the statue of her great-great-great-great-great grandfather, but she noticed their joy was gone and they had worried looks on their faces.

"Hey, guys!" she called out as she ran towards them, "What happened with your audience?

"Something wasn't quite right about ouer royal friend, cat-girl," replied Drippy as he hopped on the edge of the fountain, "Brokenhearted he is, or I'm brokenheaded."

Oliver gasped, "The King is-?"

"Lacking enthusiasm, it looked like. And because he's brokenhearted, the whole kingdom's being dragged down with him…"

"What are we waiting for?" a look of determination appeared on Oliver's face, "Let's go find the piece of heart he's missing!"

Cloe's eyes widened in wonder. "Wait a minute… You mean you can cure him? Get him back to normal?"

Drippy gave the cat a reassuring look, "Of course, cat-girl! All we need to do is find another person with get-up-and-go aplenty! IT's a sleepy old place, but there's bound to be someone somewhere!"

"Enthusiasm, you say…?" Cloe thought for a moment, and a grin appeared on her lips a few seconds later, "I know just the right person."

* * *

Maora knew when one of the guards came to fetch her that Cloe was up to something, but she had yet to discover what. As she stepped out from the palace bridge, the old woman looked around the main plaza, and tried to spot a certain white-furred cat princess among all the citizens hanging out, either talking about simple things or children played around. Finally, Maora spotted Cloe's familiar white fur and as she walked towards her, she noticed she was accompanied by a young boy, the one King Tom had seen a few minutes ago, and… fairy?

"Cloe, dear," she spoke when she got closer to the trio, "Who are these young gentlemen? I have not seen them around these parts in my entire life, are they new?"

"Maora, I promise I'll explain you later, but right now we need a favor." Cloe replied, making the old woman narrow her eyes playfully and grin.

"I knew you were up to something, young one. What is it you need?"

"See, Miss Maora," Oliver gathered the courage to speak, "We were hoping you could lend us a bit of you enthusiasm. King Tom seems to be really short on enthusiasm right now…"

"Me?" Maora raised an eyebrow in confusion before turning to look at the cat princess, "Are you sure, dear? I'm not sure about being so enthusiastic… At my age, there's not much I can do…"

"Don't say that, Maora!" The cat princess took the old woman's hands, "You're one of the most enthusiastic people I know. Nothing can stop you! You're always eager to help me, no matter how hard or ridiculous it is! You never get laziness get ahead of you! In fact, I've never seen you neglect your work once!"

"That sounds like a very enthusiastic woman," Drippy commented as he hopped next to Maora, "That's why we need you, Lady! You seem to have loads of the stuff. IF we gave some of it to King Tom, the whole town would sort itself out quick sharp!"

Oliver gulped, "So… we were wondering if you could share of your enthusiasm with us?"

Maora thought for a moment before sighing in defeat, "Alright, if it means the King will go back to normal, you may have as much as you want."

"Thanks, Miss Maora!" Oliver thanked the old woman as he got a want, or stick, it seemed, from his belt and Cloe was amazed as he used it to draw a symbol with the shape of a heart with a line across it. And a greenish, shining light emerged from Maora's chest and floated into the locket around the boy's neck.

"My god, you're a wizard, aren't you?" Maora inquired as she took a hand to her chest, "I though all wizards abandoned magic after the Dark Djinn banned it."

"At least there's someone here who has been keeping herself informed!" Drippy commented.

Cloe spoke, "So Da- The King will be alright now, right?"

Maora was confused as to why Cloe referred to her father like that, but she guessed she still hadn't told her new friends she was King Tom's one and only beloved daughter.

"That's right, and once he is back to normal, everyone will return to their normal selves," Oliver replied, "Why don't you come with us, Cloe? You can come too, Miss Maora."

Maora smiled, "You don't have to use formalities, young wizard. You may call me simply Maora, I don't mind."

"I'd like to go with you, guys, but there are some things I must do-"

"Come on, Cat-girl! I bet he'll give you a rise if he sees that you helped us restore his missing enthusiasm! He might even get a crush on you!"

Cloe bristled inwardly, although she knew he said that because he didn't know her blood relation to King Tom. Defeated, Cloe walked behind Oliver and Drippy as they made their way back to the palace.

* * *

"Hm? Mmmyoh… You two again. One is becoming rather tired of these constant interruptions," King Tom yawned in irritation as he noticed the boy and fairy from before walked back into his throne room. Just as he was having a good dream… He noticed Cloe and Maora were with them, but Cloe had an anxious look on her face, for some reason.

Oliver gulped the lump on his throat, "S-Sorry, Your Meowjesty. It0s just, we have something for you…"

"Yeah, we picked it out especially for you, Catface!" Drippy continued, "It'll get rid of that tiredness of youers in no time! Give you new lease of life, it will! Strong teeth, glossy fur-"

"Well, I think Maora and I will make sure the red herring will not try to escape again!" Cloe interrupted the fairy as she softly dragged Maora to the room where the red herring was before waving back at Oliver and Drippy, "See you later, guys."

The cat King just watched as his daughter led Maora away; since when had she become so attached to the red herring, anyway? But back to business…

"Mmmyohhh! That sounds just the ticket! This accursed fatigue will be the death of one. Dealing with all these visitors has taken its toll…"

Drippy spoke, "Not to worry, Youer Meowjesty! A little bit of enthusiasm is all you need, en't it?!"

Oliver took his pathetic excuse for a wand (as some children had put it when they saw him pass by for the first time), and cast the counterpart to the spell he had used to take a little of Maora's enthusiasm. The same green light from before emerged from the locket and flew directly into the cat king's chest and illuminating apparently the whole room before disappearing.

Oliver whispered to his fairy companion, "So, do you think it worked?"

King Tom felt a mysterious warm, funny feeling inside his chest when the light came into him; his fatigue and tiredness soon started to vanish into thin air, and he could feel energy rushing back into his body, until finally he snapped back to reality.

"Hm? What the devil was one up to?" was the first thing he said as he jumped to his feet on his throne's cushion.

"Your Meowjesty!" the guard standing next to the throne said hopefully, "Please, tell us you're back to your old self!

"Why, one if ten times more energetic that one has ever been!" King Tom stepped down from his throne, refilled with life once more, "But one feels… different, somehow…"

The guard looked towards the duo standing at the end of the stairs, "This is your doing, is it not? Then you must be rewarded!" the guard looked back at the Cat King, "Your Meowjesty, it seems that these brave adventurers have lifted the curse that was placed upon you."

"What?!" The stout cat turned around to look at the guard in surprise, "Is this true?"

"Yes, your Meowjesty! It appears that you were cursed with a lack of enthusiasm."

King Tom set his eyes on the two travelers as he regained his composure, "Mmeow, is that so? One certainly didn't feel oneself for a while there. It seems one is in your debt."

* * *

Maora and Cloe simply stared at the red herring as it swam around its tank, this time they had made sure that it had no way of jumping into the moat for a second time. Although Cloe's fur and clothing had already dried from her little accident back in the pond, her fur had gained a more grayish tone, making her fur look less silky than it actually was, not to mention she wasn't able to completely brush it back to normal. Her dress had tiny spots of mud in a few places, and her beautiful tail look a little skinnier.

Cloe had explained to Maora what had happened when she left to look for the red herring, to the pond incident, to finding it in her mother's grave.

"Dear, I still think you should take a bath before your father sees you like this," Maora suggested as she looked at Cloe's current appearance, "You know he doesn't like to see you like this."

"Come on, Maora!" Cloe smiled, "I'm not five anymore! Besides, I don't look that bad!"

"Cloe!"

Both Maora and the cat princess were surprised when they saw King Tom walking towards them with a grin on his lips, and Cloe was caught off guard when her father picked her up and held her close, like when she was little.

"Cloe, my little pumpkin!" he spoke eagerly, "One's back to normal! What have you been doing today?"

"Daddy…" Cloe could barely speak; unfortunately, although she loved her father's hugs he was much larger than her, "I can't breath…"

"oh, one's sorry, Cloe…" the cat king put his daughter down, and noticed her rather messy appearance, "What in the-? Cloe, what happened to you? You look like you were playing in the mud!"

"It's a long story, daddy," Cloe sighed, "One which involves me falling into a pond while trying to recover your red herring."

King Tom smiled as he ruffled Cloe's fur, "Well, since one's full of energy, we can go and do something together, like you suggested one in the morning. But first, there's something one must do."

As her father walked away towards his bedchambers, Cloe couldn't describe the happiness she felt when she saw her father back to his old self. She had missed that part of him very much, and it was back.

"Well, while you father finishes his business, why don't you go and check on your new friends, dear?" Maora suggested.

"Well, now that I think of it, I think daddy might take a while in finishing his business, so I guess you're right. Care to tell him I'll be back later?"

Maora nodded, "Of course, dear. You can go and have fun with your friends meanwhile, but I think you should tell them the truth."

Cloe's smile faded away and she sighed sadly, "I guess you're right. They'll find out anyway."

The cat princess waved at her nanny and walked away, towards the throne room. Once there, she noticed they were not there, and guessed they were outside. With little else to do, Cloe walked down the hall, twitching her tail in thought, a trait she inherited from her father. How was she supposed to tell Oliver and Drippy that she was a princess? Would they be angry at her for lying to them?

As she walked into the plaza, she spotted Oliver's familiar face returning to the palace, Drippy running alongside him, and surprisingly she noticed it didn't take him much effort to keep up with the boy.

"Hey, Cloe!" Oliver waved at her as he and Drippy ran closer to her, "What happened? You left out of sudden."

Cloe shuddered, but tried to hide it, "I'm sorry, I just was afraid the red herring would run away again. King Tom loves it very much, it is a memento of his late wife…"

"Oh…" Oliver looked down sadly, "No wonder why everyone was so worried…"

"Listen, There's something I have to tell you, guys…"  
"You can tell us later, Cat-girl!" Drippy interrupted her, "Right now there's a wand we need to pick up from His Meowjesty!"

Cloe was rather surprised; her father would actually give away his wand. He cherished it very much, it had been in his possession since his kittenhood, and Maora had told her he had been very naughty with that thing in paw. She never thought he would actually part with it..

"Well, I guess I can tell you later." Cloe smiled, back from her thoughts, "I can accompany you if you want."

As they were crossing the bridge, Oliver spoke to the fairy, "Drippy, why didn't you tell me the King's wife was dead?"

Drippy shrugged, "Cause I didn't know, Ollie-boy! I knew he had married, but I didn't know the Queen had died. I did know that before she died, a little bundle of joy came into their lives.

Cloe felt her heart accelerating its pulse.

"Y-You mean…" Oliver connected the dots, "They had a baby?"

"A healthy, pretty baby girl! Too bad we didn't get to meet her!"

"Guys, I _really_ need to tell you something…" Cloe whispered, her ears flattening against her head.

"Princess Cloe!"

Cloe smacked her forehead as the guard from before ran towards her and her companions, making both Oliver and Drippy stare at her in amazement.

"You're a princess?!" Oliver could barely recover from shock, "That means… King Tom is your father?"

"Yes, he is." Cloe sighed in defeat and embarrassment.

"Well, don't take it bad, Cat-girl, but you take more after your mother. I can't see much of ouer royal friend in you." Drippy commented before the guard arrived.

"Something terrible has happened!" he announced in alarm, making the trio gasp in shock.

Drippy cried out, "Flipping heck, mun! Don't tell me old King Tom's gone and got his heart broken again?!"

The soldier shook his head, "No no, His Meowjesty's heart is in good working order, as far as I know…"

"As far as you know?" Oliver inquired

"After you restored His Meowjesty's missing enthusiasm, he was determined to find his old wand, so that he could give it to you by way of a reward." The soldier looked down, "So determined, in fact, that he said he would go and look for it himself…"

"Well, that's good, en't it?" Drippy said, "What's all the fuss about?"

What the soldier said next almost gave Cloe a heart attack.

"His Meowjesty had disappeared!"


	4. Catnapped

Neko Monogatari

Chapter 4- Catnapped

Cloe and her new friends walked out of the palace in worry; she couldn't believe it, just when things were going back to normal, her father disappeared. What possibly could be worse than this? Mr. Drippy has said that Oliver knew the place to search, but judging by the look on the boy's face, he wasn't sure.

"Where are we going, Mr. Drippy?" Oliver inquired as the trio stopped in front of the plaza fountain, "And what's this about somewhere I know real well?"

"Where d'you think, clever clods?" Drippy replied, "Motorville, en't it?"

Cloe tilted her head in confusion, "Motor-what?"

Oliver sighed, "It's a long story, Cloe." He looked down at Drippy, "What does Motorville have to do with finding the King?"

"Well, the answer en't always going to be over by here, Ollie-boy."

"Huh? What does that mean?"

"´You got to remember the whole soul mate thing, en't it? What we see here in this world en't always the whole picture.

"Soul mates… Okay…"

"What are you guys talking about?" Cloe inquired, "Soul Mate? What does that mean?"

"It means all people in Ollie-boy's world and ouer world are connected," Drippy explained, "Not just Alicia and his mam, all people."

Cloe's eyes went open wide, "Oliver's world? That means…?" she looked at Oliver in astonishment, "You're from another world?"

Oliver felt awkward when he replied, "Yeah…"

"Look, you two!" Drippy called out for them, "The point is there's someone over in Ollie-boy's world who's connected to King Tom over by here! And when someone in ouer world is in a potch, you can sometimes find out how to help them from their soul mate over in Ollie-boy's world because they're connected, see? Obvious when you think about it, en't it?"

Oliver looked down in thought, "So somebody in my world is King Tom's soul mate, huh…"

Drippy nodded, "That's right. But maybe not a person. And maybe not in such a lofty position as ouer friend the cat king."

"What's that supposed to mean?" Cloe inquired, perking up her ears.

"Well, shopkeeper's cat and King of Ding Dong Dell en't exactly similar status-wise, is it?"

"Shopkeeper's cat?" Oliver repeated in confusion, "I don't think I, uh…"

"When you first saw King Tom, you instantly thought to youerself: 'Hello, hello! He's the spitting image of Timmy the cat, he is!"

"Timmy the cat?" Cloe inquired, "my father's soulmate…? I don't get any of this!"

"You'll see for youerself soon, Cat-girl," Drippy replied before looking up at Oliver, "Magic us up a Gateway, and let's get over to youer world, shall we? You remember how, don't you?"

Oliver nodded, "Sure I do! Let's go see how everybody back in Motorville is doing!"

Cloe watched as Oliver took his wand stick from his belt and drew a different symbol in thin air, and before she had time to react, she watched as a light started to appear around the three and, before she knew it, everything went blank…

* * *

When she came back to her senses, Cloe found herself in an unfamiliar place. It was the weirdest thing she had seen in her entire life; the path was made out of some kind or black rock, and there were walls surrounding the trees and houses, which had equally strange shapes. What startled the cat princess were the metallic creatures moving across the black path with humans like Oliver inside.

"What… is… this… place?" the princess stuttered nervously, looking around her surroundings while walking closer to Oliver.

"This is my world, Cloe," Oliver smiled wile taking the cat's hand reassuringly, "don't worry, it's not dangerous. Come on, Miss Leila's shop is over here."

Cloe followed Oliver and Drippy down the street, looking around at the buildings, and watching every detail. The buildings were quadrangular and of different colors, there were great windows exposing the buildings' insides to the people outside, and some of the doors were made out of glass as well. When they came to a particular building, Cloe looked up at a black board with letters and words she couldn't understand, but when she saw Oliver and Drippy walking in, she assumed it was the place they were looking for.

When they walked in, Cloe looked around and saw all kinds of different fruits and objects she didn't recognize, although some of them looked familiar to her. She spotted a fat woman on the other side of the counter, with puffy red hair and blue eyes.

"Oh, Oliver…" she spoke sadly, "Seeing you, I… I just don't know what to say, dear…"

"It's fine, Miss Leila," Oliver replied, "I'm okay now!"

"You are? Well I'm pleased to hear that, honey… but if there's anything I can do, just let me know, won't you?"

"Actually, there's something you can do for me right now, Miss Leila. You can tell me where Timmy is. Is he here in the store?"

Miss Leila thought for a minute, "Well, now that you mention it, I don't think I've seen him… Timmy!... Timmy! Where's my Timmy Toldrum?" she looked down in worry, "He must have run off somewhere, the little rascal…"

Oliver muttered under his breath, "He's probably gone exploring, huh…"

"Hey, Oliver…" Cloe tapped the boy's shoulder, "Sorry to interrupt you, but aren't you forgetting something?"

"Yeah! It's just like what happened with King Tom!"

"Bingo!" Drippy cried out, "We've got ouerselves a missing cat king in one world, and a missing fat cat in another! And I reckon the reason why'll be the same, too! Track down Timmy, and youer sure to find…"

"The vital clue that will help solve the mystery!" Cloe finished in excitement.

"I'm awfully sorry I couldn't help you, dearie…" Miss Leila gave Oliver an apologetic look.

Oliver smiled, "But you did help! Thanks, Miss Leila!"

"I… I did…? Well, all right, then. Good-bye now, dear!"

"G'bye, Miss Leila!"

"Righto, Ollie-boy," Drippy commented as the trio walked out of the store, "Let's start out where you know best, shall we? Round by youer house, I mean."

"You're right, let's go!"

Cloe followed Oliver through the streets of Motorville, getting startled every now and then by the metallic creatures or by birds taking flight on the trees on the gardens and rooftops. After a while, they stopped in front of a wooden white house, and Cloe assumed it was Oliver's home.

"I think I'll wait for you outside, Oliver," the cat princess spoke up, "I'd like to look around for a little while,"

"Alright, but try not to get too far," Oliver nodded, before he and Drippy walked towards the house.

Cloe noticed that before reaching the steps of the home, Oliver stopped and looked into thin air, as if he was seeing someone, but she couldn't see anything. Perhaps it was some kind of invisible creature or person present in this world or something… but she really began to worry when she heard Oliver speaking to himself…

A meow called her attention. The cat princess looked around and spotted something very unusual; a cat with no clothing of a very small size, and walking on all fours. It had pure white fur, a beautiful bushy tail and violet eyes, reminding her of someone… Before she could reach out for the cat, it turned around abruptly and ran away a few steps before stopping and looking back at her, as if wanting Cloe to follow it… After hesitating for a few minutes, Cloe ran after the white cat, not noticing Drippy had finally emerged from Oliver's house and spotting her running away.

The cat led Cloe through the streets of Motorville once more, stopping once in a while to make sure the cat princess was still following it. As she followed the white cat, the beauty of Oliver's world amazed Cloe, even though she still found it somewhat scary. The homes almost looked all like Oliver's, but their colors told them apart. Finally, the white cat came to a stop in the middle of building whose walls were of a rusted color, and Cloe noticed one of the metallic creatures of the streets, blue in color, was resting next to the building. Cloe heard a small squeak coming from the creature, and almost jumped when a mouse ran out from beneath the blue creature, then ran away when it spotted her.

When the white cat walked through the gab between the blue creature and the building and meowed back at Cloe, the cat princess spotted a yellow fuzz ball just behind the building. But before following the white cat, Cloe stared at the metallic animal just next to her. Was it dangerous? Gulping the lump in her throat, Cloe slowly reached out her paw to touch it, and quickly pulled her hand back after touching it softly.

Nothing happened.

Cloe ran her hand down the creature's metal blue hide, and calmed down when nothing it remained motionless. After hearing the white cat meowing at her once again, Cloe finally walked across the gap and came to the back of the building.

Cloe spotted the yellow fuzz ball, finding it to be a cat, a _very_ fat cat, was lying down on the dirt. It had dark brown tabby stripes almost all over his body, and a dark brown back. She almost immediately recognized its shape.

"D-Daddy?" Cloe fell on her knees, her ears drooping and her tail twitching in anticipation.

The cat remained motionless, although she could see his belly was rising from his breathing, so it meant he was still alive. Gingerly, Cloe picked the cat up, and was surprised at how light he was; however, when she looked around to look for a trace of the white cat that had led her there, she found it was nowhere to be found.

"Cloe!"

The cat princess perked up her ears when Oliver's voice reached her ears, and she almost immediately ran back through the gap of the building and the harmless metal animal, and ran to the middle of the street, spotting Oliver and Drippy running towards her.

"Don't scare us like that, Cat-girl!" Drippy growled in annoyance, "We thought you had been run over by a car!"

Cloe tilted her head in confusion, "Car?"

"You found Timmy!" Oliver noticed the cat Cloe was carrying, "Where did you find him?"

"He was in the back of that building," Cloe pointed to the building behind her, "I was guided to him by a white cat."

"Come on, Ollie-boy! Let's take Timmy back to his owner before he gets worse than he looks."

The trio returned to Leila's milk bar through the same way they had come, and all the while Cloe was trying to keep him awake, speaking to him softly. She couldn't help feeling rather awkward; this fat cat was her father's soul mate? She didn't find it all that hard to believe, considering that they were strikingly alike.

"Miss Leila!" Oliver cried as he and his friends crossed through the door, having taken the cat from Cloe, "It's Timmy, he's…"

Miss Leila's face lit up with worry, "Oh, goodness!" she reached out for her cat, "My Timmy Toldrum! Whatever happened to you?"

A few minutes later, Timmy recovered some of his energy and was back to normal; Cloe, after learning from Drippy that they were invisible to the people of that world, remained close to Timmy all the time, and surprisingly, he was actually able to sense her presence. She guessed animals and people didn't have the same senses. This cat reminded her of her father so much…

"Thank you, dearie!" Miss Leila thanked Oliver for about the tenth time, "You brought him all the way back home to mommy! Wasn't he heavy?"

Oliver blushed, "Uh, no. Not really… Is he okay?"

"Oh, don't worry about Timmy, Oliver. It's nothing serious," the shopkeeper explained, "He's just a little tired, aren't you, Timmy dear?" she rubbed the cat's head lovingly, "It doesn't take much to tire out a big old buy like you, does it, snookums?"

"Is that all?" Drippy commented, "I was worried flipping sick about him!"

Cloe replied, "At least he's alright, that's all that matters. At least I can be relieved that my father is not injured or worse."

Oliver spoke, "But what was Timmy doing all the way down at the garage?"

"Well, dearie, one of my customers told me all about it," Miss Leila explained, "She said that Rusty's garage is just crawling with mice, and my dear old Timmy Toldrum just loves to chase the little devils!" She gave the boy a thankful smile, "Thank you so much, Oliver, dear! Now I know that's where he disappeared to, I can stop worrying about him. He was just getting a little exercise- weren't you, my Timmy Toldrum! I guess I could learn a thing or two from you, huh?"

"Too flipping right you could…" Drippy snickered, only to receiver a scolding glare from the cat princess.

"MR. DRIPPY!" She cried out at him in annoyance, making him jump back.

Oliver sighed, "Miss Leila, I have to go now. It was nice seeing you!"

"And you, dearie." The shopkeeper replied, "Just let me know if there's ever anything you need now, won't you?"

As the trio walked out of the store slowly, a thought came into Cloe's mind, "So, Timmy disappeared because he ran off chasing a mouse, didn't he?"

"So the mouse is the clue, right?" Oliver continued, "So King tom's disappearance has to do with mice, too?"

"Got it in one!" Drippy exclaimed, "Exactly what it has to do with mice is a whole 'nother question, though…"

Clot thought for a minute, her tail flicking in the process, "I'm sure I've heard someone saying something about mice in our world…" After a few minutes, a bell rang in her head, "I got it! There's a boy who's always guarding the entrance to the sewers! He's always saying he's making sure the mice don't do their tricks! I bet he knows something about my father's whereabouts!"

"Righto!" Drippy hopped up in the air, "Ding Dong Dell it is!"

* * *

After returning to Ding Dong Dell, Cloe led Oliver and Drippy through the streets of Ding Dong Dell (quite relieved that she was back in her familiar environment), and passing by the Cawtermaster, they came to a flight of stairs leading into the sewers, and a boy wearing a pot in his head as an armor, and holding a broom in his right hand was 'guarding' it. He tried to stay in a soldier's composure when he saw the cat princess approaching.

"Princess Cloe!" he spoke, "I think I just heard King Tom's voice! It was coming down from Ding Dong Well!

Oliver tilted his head in confusion, "Ding Dong Well?"

"Yes! I could hear it coming from the other side of that gate! It was definitely King Tom, I'm sure of it!"

Drippy thought for a moment, "Ding Dong Well, eh…? You said there were mice living down by there, en't it?"

Tommy nodded eagerly, "Yes! The place is full of mice! That's why I'm standing here, keeping guard! Mice and cat's really don't get along, you see…"

Cloe looked away and muttered under her breath, "Tell me…"

"oh, knickers… I know what's happened!" Drippy's body shook in horror, "King Tom's been kidnapped by the mice!"

Both Oliver and Cloe repeated in shock, "Kidnapped?!"

Cloe was next to speak up," If my daddy's been kidnapped, we need to rescue him!"

"I'm not sure it's a good idea for you to come, Cloe…" Oliver looked down in shame, "I mean, you're a princess and it could be dangerous. You don't even have a familiar…"

"a Familiar?" Tommy repeated, "Why didn't you say it before? I have a friend to help you!"

Tommy took his fingers to his lips and let out a long whistle; the trio looked around for any signs of movement, before Cloe twitched her ears to a sound coming from above. She looked up to the ceilings and watched as a small monkey-like creature hopped from the ceilings and landed next to Tommy. It had light yellow fur with dark brown arms, legs and face; its tail was a solid yellow with dark brown rings running down it. She found it rather cute.

"Look at that!" Drippy exclaimed, "A flipping familiar! Well I never!"

"He followed me home when I went to play in the woods." Tommy explained, "and he's really strong! If he's with the princess, she'll be fine!"

Cloe couldn't help it, and she picked up the thumbelemur, holding it close like a plush toy, but she remained her calm when it shrank and went into her chest, "Thank you very much, Tommy! I just hope daddy will let me keep it…"

Oliver spoke up, "We'd better head down there, eh?"

"Indeed we had, Ollie-boy!" Drippy replied, then turned to give Tommy a look, "Leave it to us, Tommy, my lad!"

Tommy nodded, "Okay! Be careful, princess Cloe!"  
The trio ran down the small flight of stairs, and soon their feet were drenched in water; The floor was slightly flooded in water, and water lilies and pads were floating all around, with a few moss growing out of the walls. They came to the iron gates, which had the shape of a giant fish's head; they found it to be locked by a padlock.

"It looks like the gate's locket, Ollie-boy…" Drippy pointed out, staring at the padlock blocking the door.

"But the King's down there! And we don't have a key!" Oliver exclaimed in dismay, "What are we going to do?!"

Cloe examined the long-time rusty padlock, meant to keep the mice in, and civilians out. She barely remembered it, but she had been told once that when she was two years old, the mice had attempted a kidnap attempt on her to blackmail her father, but it ultimately failed, as the princess had (surprisingly, for her young age) outsmarted the mice.

How to open the lock…? She had never been so good at magic at all; in fact, the only reason she knew one or two spells was because, as a member of the Royal Family, her father was obliged to pass down some of the few spells he knew to her. However, Cloe recalled one of the spells her father taught her…

"Oliver, could you lend me your wand for a minute?" she called out to the boy, who gave her a confused look.

"My wand…?" he asked, "Why…?"

"I think I know a spell to open the lock, but I need a wand to cast it, so I need you to lend me your wand."

Although he was quite hesitant, Oliver grabbed his wand from his belt and handled it to the cat princess; Cloe tried to remember the spell… 'Spring Lock', it was called… Cloe slowly but confidently drew the corresponding symbol into thin air, like her father taught her, and the trio watched as the padlock disappeared into thin air and the gates opened.

"Tidy!" Drippy hopped in excitement, "It's open!"

Cloe happily handed the wand back to Oliver, "Now we can do find daddy!"

"That we can!" Drippy stepped to the front, "In we go, you two!"

The trio walked into the darkness of the doors, not before Cloe looked up at the sun for a last time.

* * *

Now the princess knew why nobody liked going into Ding Dong Well.

The place was almost completely dark, dimly illuminated by lanterns hanging on the wall. The walls themselves had moss growing in almost every corner, and fish-shaped fountains in the walls filled the place with water. A stone path was, luckily, completely dry. And the tunnels from where some of the water came had bars blocking entrance.

The fairy said one of his famous comments, "Crikey, it's damp as anything down by here! My lantern'll go all moldy if I don't watch out!"

"Guys, we better take care in here…" Cloe spoke as she took her first look around the sewer, "There's a reason that door was locked…"

The trio traversed through the almost long-forgotten sewers, looking out for monsters, some of which Cloe had already seen in the books she read. Also, turning out that she had seen maps of Ding Dong Well tucked safely in the Royal Library out of curiosity when she was younger, she knew her way most of the time, but that didn't mean they wouldn't run into one monster or two along the way.

Cloe would never forget her first battle using the familiar; well actually, she didn't really fight at all, Oliver was the one who did the fighting. Being used to living practically surrounded by soldiers after the mice's kidnap attempt and to have someone fight for her, Cloe hadn't the slightest idea of how to fight with a familiar. In fact, she couldn't call her familiar, whom she had affectionately called 'Furry', out from her chest. Drippy said she just needed to get used to it before actually being able to fight with a familiar. Cloe felt rather useless, although Oliver assured her that he didn't mind defending her from monsters, but still the cat princess wanted to contribute to the group. She could already hear her father giving her a long lecture if he saw her…

When the group came to a section of the sewers where three torches were separated by lengths, Cloe figures out they needed to be lit up at the same time for the bars of the next passage to make way for them. It took about five attempts on Oliver's part to lit up all the three torches quickly, and finally the bars shrank into the stone floor.

"Seriously, I never imagined Ding Dong Well would be so…" Cloe tried to think of a word to describe the place, "…labyrinthine!"

"Well, what did you expect, Cat-girl?" Drippy commented as they walked up a small flight of stairs, "It's a mouse trap, after all.

"Oliver, can I ask you something?"

Oliver nodded, "Sure, what is it?"

"Why did you come to our world?"

Oliver stopped in his tracks, and looked down sadly; Cloe stopped and returned to listen to Oliver.

"It's a long story…" he replied sadly, "My mom died a while ago, and I met Mr. Drippy. He said that if I could rescue the Great Sage Alicia from the Soulsnare, perhaps my mom would come back."

Cloe looked down in sadness, "Listen, I kinda know how you feel… My mom died when I was a baby, and I don't even remember anything of her. I don't even know how she died, daddy has never told me."

Suddenly, Drippy started hopping in alarm, "Well, Cat-girl, you can ask him now, because there he is!"

Cloe and Oliver grew alarmed when the words left the fairy's mouth, and they quickly rushed up the rest of the stairs. They crossed through a doorless gate into an roofless, circular room on the sewers. Waterfalls adorned the room, coming from small windows on the walls, and a few Lilly pads floated above the water surface, and moss grew from the walls as well.

King Tom and a giant, purple-furred mouse with large ears and a cross-shaped scar across its forehead, probably the leader of the mice, were circling around the room, not taking their eyes off each other. It reminded Oliver of the sumo fights he had sometimes seen in the T.V.. Cloe noticed her father was holding his wand in his left paw, which made her question Drippy's theory.

"Your Meowjesty!" Oliver called out for the cat king in worry

"Need a hand?" Drippy added

"Daddy! Are you alright?!" Cloe cried out, fearing for her father's safety.

Upon hearing his daughter's voice, King Tom turned around and was shocked to find Cloe accompanying Oliver and Drippy.

"Cloe?!" he spoke in a shocked tone, "What are you doing here?! It's dangerous!"

Drippy was taken off guard, "So he wasn't kidnapped?"

"SAY CHEESE!"

King Tom didn't realize his mistake until he felt a strong hit on the back of his head; having taken advantage of his adversary turning his back on him, the giant mouse had struck him with his giant scepter, making the cat king drop the wand he had been holding.

"The crook…" the cat king took a step back dizzily, "Struck one…"

With a loud thud, the cat king collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

"DADDY!" Cloe rushed to her father's side, not caring if the mouse targeted her.

"That'll teach you to turn your back on me, you old tomfool, you!" the purple mouse mockingly sneered, sticking his tongue at the fallen monarch before setting his eyes on the cat princess, "Well, well, look who has decided to pay us a visit!"

Cloe paid him no heed, "Daddy! Please, wake up!" she pleaded, clenching her father's tunic tightly, trying in vain to bring him back to his senses. Cloe pressed her ears backwards and dug her face into her father's chest, wrapping her arms around him as tears started to roll down her cheeks and fall on her father's tunic. Oliver and Drippy quickly rushed to her side, but before they could check on the cat king, the giant rodent made a huge leap to land in front of the two, and the fairy couldn't help to speak, "That is one huge rodent!"

"You squeaklings work for the fat cat and that daughter of his, do you?" the giant mouse snapped, making Oliver and Drippy step back in fear.

"Uh, no, we, we…" Oliver tried to speak, but the mouse interrupted him.

"Too slow!"

The mouse king lunged at the group…


	5. The Decision

Neko Monogatari

Chapter 5- The Decision

The cat princess didn't react when the giant mouse lunged at the group; it was Oliver who called out his familiar to block Hickory Dock's attack, receiving damage in the process and being thrown a few steps away, landing with a loud thud. Oliver felt a sharp pain in his back as the familiar touched the ground.

"Oliver!" Cloe called out to him, not leaving her father's side, "Are you alright?!"

Oliver nodded quickly before managing to cast a Fireball spell. The flame burst on one of Hickory Dock's legs, but from the looks of it, the damage was minimal.

"That hardly did anything!" Cloe cried out, "I wish daddy hadn't passed out, he knows a spell that could put that rat in place!"

"No time for that, Cat-girl!" Drippy cried out, "Look out!"

"You know, I still remember the humiliation you made me go through all those years ago!" Hickory hissed at the cat princess, "Because of you, I couldn't sit for two weeks!"

"I was two years old!" Cloe exclaimed, "I don't even remember what happened!"

She couldn't continue as the mouse lunged once more, but once again, Oliver's familiar took the attack again, inflicting more damage to both it and Oliver. Cloe grew worried as Oliver clenched his teeth in pain. She didn't imagine how many health points he had lost because of her.

She wanted to help, but at the same time she didn't want to leave her father. However, when Hickory Dock started charging up an attack on his giant scepter, she made up her mind and, giving her father one last glance, got on her feet quickly and attempted to summon her familiar, but it refused to come out for some reason. Hickory Dock attempted to unleash his attack, but the scepter didn't launch a spark; the giant mouse shook it to make it work, but it exploded close to his face and he fell to the ground, dizzy.

"Ha ha!" Drippy laughed, "The furry fool's only gone and tripped himself up! Now's youer chance to give him a good hiding, you two!"

"How can I when Furry doesn't come out!" Cloe cried out in frustration as she saw Oliver's familiar rush next to the fallen mouse and started whacking him with his sword.

"You need to concentrate, Cat-girl!"

"I'm concentrating!"

Hickory Dock finally regained his senses and knocked Oliver's familiar with his tail; Cloe closed her eyes shut and called her familiar from within her being, not noticing Hickory Dock had targeted her.

"Any last words, kitty cat?" he grinned maliciously as he leaned in closer to her.

"Cloe!" Oliver sent his familiar after the mouse, but he looked back and swished his tail in circles at a fast pace, and Oliver's familiar stopped in its track and small stars appeared above its head as it started to spin around dizzily.

"Now, where were we?"

Cloe started to sweat, hearing as Hickory Dock got closer and closer to her.

_Furry, come out now! I need you!_

"Bye bye, Kitty cat!" Hickory lunged at Cloe…

_NOW!_

The purple rat was sent against the ground as Furry emerged from her chest and tackled him headfirst. With a wave of relief washing over her, the cat princess mentally ordered the familiar to charge at the purple mouse. As Hickory fell to the ground, a golden orb of energy emerged from the mouse's body.

"The orb!" Drippy pointed at the golden sphere as it started floating towards the ground, "It's for a special attack! Grab it before it vanishes!"

Furry rushed to grab the golden sphere and was enveloped in a golden light just as Hickory Dock got back to his feet. After a while, a sphere of wind surrounded the familiar, and after a while unleashed it on the mouse; Hickory Dock was struck by a swirl of wind and lighting.

"Finish him off, Ollie boy!" Drippy cried out, "One hit and he's done!"

Oliver sent his familiar after the mouse and, using one of its special attacks, he slashed Hickory with its short sword inflicting damage. Upon receiving the last hit, the purple mouse collapsed, and remained motionless. However, before anyone could do anything about it, he got back on his feet and dashed through a waterfall into the well.

"You dirty rats!" he shouted as he fled, "I'll get you next time!"

Drippy spoke, "Knickers! He got away! And he got another stupid catchphrase in before he left and all!"

"Never mind that, Mr. Drippy." Oliver exclaimed, "What about King Tom?"

"Daddy!" After recalling Furry, Cloe rushed to her father's side once again and tried to shook him awake, "Please, don't leave me! You promised you would never leave me!"

"Is he alright?" Oliver asked in worry as he and his fairy companion walked closer.

To the trio's relief, the cat king opened his eyes barely and turned to look at his tear-eyed daughter, "Cloe… You're…. Here…"

"Daddy!" Cloe wrapped her arms around her father once again.

"Come on, Kingface!" Drippy spoke, "Pull youerself together!"

"One's wand…" King Tom whispered weakly, "One retrieved it from the villain who… purloined it… Mmmyugh…"

Saying this, the monarch fell into unconsciousness once again.

"Daddy!" Cloe cried in desperation.

"Your Meowjesty!" Oliver gasped in horror

"Knickers! Knickers, knickers, knickers!" Drippy yelped, "Your Meowjesty! Your Meowjesty!"

* * *

The cat princess sat outside her father's bedchambers, hugging her knees and hiding her face in her arms. Oliver and Drippy were next to her, trying to cheer her up, but to no avail. After defeating Hickory Dock, the trio barely managed to carry the fallen cat king out from the sewers and take him back to the palace. A few guards had taken him to his bedchambers so Maora could check on him, and she was still inside. Cloe couldn't help but feel guilty; her father had been struck because she distracted him just as he was taking care of things himself.

"Don't worry, Cloe," Oliver's gentle voice reached her ears, "Your father will be alright."

"Yeah, he's as strong as the old oak Olli-boy and I met not long ago."

"It was my fault…" she whispered in an almost inaudible tone, "It's my fault daddy was hurt…"

"Don't say that!" Oliver spoke, louder this time, "Don't be so hard on yourself! There was nothing you could have done!"

"If I hadn't been there in the first place, daddy wouldn't have let his guard down!" Cloe cried in despair, "This all happened because of me!"

Finally, after a while, the doors opened and Maora slowly walked out of King Tom's bedchambers; the trio immediately ran to her side to ask her about the cat king's condition.

"How's daddy, Maora?!" Cloe was the first to ask, and the old woman put a hand on her shoulder.

"Don't worry, dear," she spoke softly, "He'll be alright, he just needs some rest, that's all. In a few hours, he'll be back on his feet, but right now I think you should let him sleep."

Oliver, Drippy and Cloe sighed in relief, but Cloe was still worried.

"Oliver, Drippy, can I talk to you?" she said to her two companions, and the trio walked away from the doors as Maora went back inside.

"What is it?" Oliver inquired.

"Listen, guys… I haven't thought about this much for a long time, but I've always wanted to see the world, and I need to learn how to fight. My father could have been injures back at the well, and I couldn't protect him. He's not the only one willing to give his life protecting someone he loves…" Cloe sighed sadly, "… I want to go with you."

"Are you sure, Cat-girl?" Drippy inquired, seriously for the first time, "I mean, I don't want any trouble with your father. Besides, he'd be pretty mad at you, and us as an extension."

"I don't want to separate you from your family, Cloe," Oliver looked down, "I mean, you and you father only have each other."

"I know, but…" Cloe looked away, "I mean, I had to leave the nest sooner or later, right?"

"But I thought you weren't allowed to leave Ding Dong Dell."

"You're right in that, I need disguise at least to get out of town."

Drippy grinned, "And I know just where to get it, Cat-girl."

* * *

"Oh, hoot!" the owl lady from the Hootique gasped as Cloe entered her shop, accompanied by the boy and fairy from before, "Princess Cloe, I'm so honored to receive you. What is it you need?"

"Cat-girl needs some clothing," Drippy explained, "Decent clothing, she needs to pass unseen by the guards."

"Unseen by the guards? Why would the princess need to pass unseen? She has done nothing wrong, hoot!"

"I know, miss…" Cloe blushed, "I just need to go out of town."

"Oh, dear… Hoo, let me think now…" the owl lady looked at the ceiling in thought, "Ah! Now I come to think of it, there's a set of cloths of your size somewhere in here, I think…"

"Roughly cat-made, is it? And cheap, I shouldn't doubt," Drippy said, "We'll take it!"

"This way, your Meowjesty," the owl lady led Cloe to the back shop.

Olive and Drippy had to wait about half-an hour before Cloe had changed her clothing; when she was done, the cat princess walked back from the backshop, and Drippy almost opened his mouth agape at how she looked. She was wearing a sleeveless plain pink vest, with a long yellow skirt that covered both her tail and legs, but her waist was visible. She had a lilac scarf around her neck, which she could use to hide most of her face when going out of town, and the pink vest had light pink trimming. It made her look rather pretty.

"So, how do I look?" Cloe asked as she twirled around.

"Ohh, there's trendy!" Drippy said as he hopped around the cat princess, "You look pretty, Cat-girl!"

The owl lady walked back to the counter, "It hoots you down to the ground, your Meowjesty."

Cloe couldn't help but blush, "T-Thanks, I guess… It's the first time I use this kind of clothing. How much do I owe you?"

"Hoo! For those old things? Don't be silly, your Meowjesty. You'd be doing me a hooge favor just taking them off my hands!"

"Really? You're sure, miss?"

"Really, princess! Think nothing of it!"

"Thank you very much, miss!" Cloe cried in excitement before turning around to look at Oliver, "We should go back to the palace. I need to do one more thing before we go, and I think you still need your wand, don't you?"

Oliver nodded, "I do, in fact. I just hope the King is alright."

* * *

_The cat king smiled as his three months old kitten sucked the warm milk that would sustain her fragile life from the bottle, snuggling deeply into his embrace as she did so. She had opened her eyes a few weeks ago, which turned out to be a strong aqua blue like his. Her tabby marking was starting to gain a little bit of color, but it would be a while before it gained its full coloring._

_Even for her age, she was a very smart kitten. She knew how to make her emotions noticed to her father, and the cat ruler had hoped she would soon say her first word, but it seemed all she thought about right then was eat and sleep… almost like him when he was her age. Apparently, he passed it down unto her._

_When she was done eating and her father put the now-empty bottle on his night desk, Cloe set her aqua blue eyes on her father's; the kitten smiled at her father and reached her little paws out for him. King Tom couldn't help but chuckle softly as he started tickling his daughter's nose playfully, like she liked; Cloe started giggling as she struggled and attempted to catch her father's paw. _

"_Your Meowjesty," Maora's voice reached both their ears._

_King Tom didn't get his eyes off Cloe as he spoke, "Come on in."_

_Maora walked into the cat monarch's bed chambers and watched the kitten still playing with her father's paw, and she felt bad for having to interrupt them, "Sorry for interrupting, but the ambassador from Hamelin wishes to speak to you."_

"_Alright," King Tom replied somberly, out of sudden losing his playful touch. However, when Cloe noticed the tension in the atmosphere, she grasped her father's tunic and didn't let go; eventually, King Tom attempted to hand her over to Maora, but Cloe started whimpering and the grasp on her father's tunic grew tighter. Finally, realizing his daughter would not budge, Tom looked up at Maora with an awkward smile "Would you mind telling the ambassador one can't attend him? It seems Cloe wants one to stay with her."_

_Maora smiled as she bowed her head and walked out of the bedchambers; Cloe finally released the cat king's tunic and pressed her paws against his chest. _

_Tom smiled down at his kitten and caressed her cheek with his finger, making her purr in delight, "Don't worry, my little pumpkin. One's staying with you a little longer…" his smile faded slightly, "Too bad your mommy can't see you now… She would have loved you as much as one does."_

_Cloe noticed her father was sad and started twitching her ears and flicking her tail to cheer him up; that always made him smile. King Tom chuckled as he held Cloe close to his chest._

"_Sometimes one thinks you're the only one who notices when one's in a bad mood, my little pumpkin." He whispered to her in an almost inaudible tone._

_Cloe let out a big yawn, her eyes started to shutter and, resting her head against her father's chest, fell asleep._

"_My little one…" the cat king covered his daughter with her pink blanket, "One will never leave you, I promise."_

King Tom finally started to open his eyes, and realized he was back on his bedchambers, on his bed, to be more precise. Maora was inside placing a cup of tea on his night desk; twitching his ears, King Tom let out a yawn and sat up on his bed, just to feel an almost excruciating pain on his head. Maora walked closer to him as he rested once again.

"How are you feeling, Tom?" she asked.

"What… what happened, Maora?" he replied, rubbing his head, "One can't remember what happened…" His eyes went open like plates in shock, "Where's Cloe?!"

"She's alright," Maora sighed, "She went out a few minutes ago, I think she'll be back soon. She was very worried about you, you know."

King Tom relaxed his muscles and he accommodated himself in his bed, "That's wonderful… but you haven't answered one's first question."

"Well, Cloe and her friends brought you back from the sewers after fighting Hickory Dock."

"Fighting?!" Maora was astonished when the cat king jumped to his feet, not caring if his head hurt, as soon as he was done talking, "Is she alright?!"

"She is, Tom. If she wasn't, she would be in her room resting."

Coincidentally, Cloe entered the room, "Maora, how is-?"

"CLOE!" Tom rushed towards his daughter and wrapped his arms around her tightly, again almost crushing her, "You're alright!" The cat king then started checking her for any major injuries, "Did that Hickory Dock hurt you? If he did, One's going to turn him into a carpet!"

All Cloe did was to embrace her father tightly, "Daddy! I thought for a minute you were gone!"

King Tom returned the embrace, "One promised you one would never leave you, remember?" He noticed his daughter's change in her attire, "Why are you dressed like that, my little pumpkin?

Cloe gulped, trying to come up with an excuse, "I… Well, my dress was all dirty from the sewers so I went to the Hootique to change my clothing."

"Anyway, where are the fairy and the young wizard? One still must thank them for saving one's life back there."

"They're waiting for you in the throne room, daddy. You shouldn't make them wait any longer, they were worried about you as well."

Tom nodded, "Alright. See you later, Cloe."

As her father left for his throne room, Maora got closer to the cat princess, sensing that she was up to something, again. However, this time, she had a clue to what she was thinking to do.

"So you have decided…?" she whispered into her ear.

Cloe looked down and closed her eyes, "Yes."


	6. Fear

Neko Monogatari

Chapter 6- Fear

Cloe wrote a short note for her father, explaining why she was leaving, but she decided not to mention Oliver and Drippy. After all, the least thing she needed was her father hunting them down like mice for something which wasn't their fault.. When she was done, she placed the note on her bed, and headed for the hallway; however, she needed a way to sneak out of the palace without any of the guards, and especially her father, noticing. She couldn't ask Maora for help neither, she didn't want to involve the old woman in this.

The cat princess was on her own.

Luckily for her, there was a secret passage that led from her bedroom to the main square, which led to a hidden trapdoor under some bushes; it had been built in case of an attack, but since her father's rule had never had any actual wars, the tunnel was mostly unused. Taking a deep breath, the princess checked the wall next to her bed, and looked for a small dent on the side, from where she opened the wall like a door, leading to a dark, secret passage. Cloe let out another sigh and sped down the tunnel, her pure white fur disappearing in the blackness of the passage.

* * *

Oliver and Drippy were waiting outside the palace, in the spot between the trees Cloe had told them. They were on the lookout for any guards, but a part of them was hesitant on sneaking Cloe out of Ding Dong Dell. King Tom had been very generous, and they didn't want to betray his trust, even though Cloe insisted that it was completely her idea, and they were just accompanying her. Besides, she had promised that if they got caught, she would say they didn't know of her identity.

"She's nice, isn't she?" Oliver sighed, looking over the bushes towards the sky.

"Of course she is, Ollie-boy!" Drippy replied, hopping over the bushes to look for any guards, "I mean, both of her parents passed down their traits upon her! It's a pity yeh didn't get to meet Queen Cleopawtri, though."

"I don't get it. What happened to her?"

"I got no idea, Ollie-boy. I was trapped in youer world when she passed away."

"I can't imagine how Cloe feels like…"

A sound behind them caught their attention, and they turned around to see a trapdoor, hidden by the grass and the leaves, opening, and a certain cat princess climbed out of the passage before closing it shut.

"Seriously!" Cloe coughed, shaking spider webs from her clothing, "Daddy should have someone clean in there!"

"Cat-girl, what took you so long?" Drippy inquired, hopping to her side, "If we're caught, we'll be spending the rest of ouer days in a prison cell!"

"Don't worry about that, " Cloe replied softly, "Right now all we need to worry about is to pass through the gates without getting noticed."

The trio walked out of the bushes, and walked through town, Cloe attempting to dissimulate. Luckily, the villagers they passed by didn't seem to recognize her, but the guards had much more sharp eyes. When they were steps away from the gate, just in front of Cat's Cradle, Cloe's chest tightened.

"Okay, Cat-girl, here we go…" Drippy whispered.

Cloe could swear she had started to sweat when they stepped through the gates, and she felt the guards' gaze upon her, but they didn't say anything for the time being. Once they crossed the bridge, she would be safe from being discovered. The path leading outside Ding Dong Dell was familiar to her, for she had once tried to sneak out of town. However, she was caught before even reaching the bridge.

When the stone bridge crossing the creek came into view, the cat princess knew she had done it. She had finally done it. She had snuck out of town without the guards, or her father, noticing.

Cloe was amazed by the view; she had seen the prairies from the balcony, but she never thought they would look so large from the ground. The hills extended towards the horizon, and she could see patches of trees every there and there, and a few monsters were roaming around the place.

"No wonder why daddy never wanted me to leave town," Cloe whispered as she spotted a fluffy-looking monsters scurrying towards a nearby bush, "But other than that, is just like I thought it would be."

"Well, you two, King Tom said we should head towards the Golden Grove," Drippy spoke up, "We should arrive at a desert, and in the middle of that desert one of the Great Sages should be living in the city of Al Mamoon."

"Al Mamoon?" Cloe inquired, "That's where the Cowlipha is, right?"

"Yeah, but how do you know so much if this is youer first time out?"

"Actually," Cloe blushed, "I once went with daddy to Al Mamoon, when I was five years old, I think. But I barely remember it, and daddy didn't let me explore the city."

"We should get going," Oliver pointed out, "The guards could spot you, Cloe."

"Yeah, you're right. Let's go."

As the trio started walking towards the direction the cat king had pointed them to, Cloe glanced back at the place where she had grown, wondering if she would be able to see it from the entrance to the golden grove.

She wondered if her father had already seen her note.

* * *

Maora entered Cloe's room, and was surprised to see that it was empty. She was sure Cloe had been in there for a while now, but how had she gone out? There was no other way out, unless… The secret tunnels.

Maora noticed there was a slip of paper on the princess's bed, just on top of her pink pillow. She had a presentment of where Cloe had gone, but she didn't want to even think of it; her father wouldn't take it kindly, and sincerely, she couldn't either. That child was like a daughter to her, and she wouldn't bear if anything happened to her. Cloe needed to go through this, that was true, but that didn't mean it hurt. Maora took the slip from the pillow and started to unfold it…

"Cloe, are you here?"

Maora froze in place when King Tom entered the room, apparently looking for his daughter. From the sound of it, he had been looking for her for a while now.

"Maora, have you seen Cloe?" the stout cat inquired, "One's been looking for her, but one hadn't been able to find her."

"Your Meowjesty…" Maora sighed, resigning, "I'm afraid she left."

"Left," King Tom repeated in confusion, "One has already looked for her in town, but she's not there either."

"No, you're not understanding me," the old woman held out the slip of paper to the cat monarch, "She left this for you."

Feeling a chill run down his spine, King Tom took the slip of paper from Maora, and recognized his daughter's hand.

_Daddy,_

_By the time you're reading this, I'll probably be faraway. I'm sorry I left without telling you, but I know you would have never let me go. I know you worry for me, but I just have to go and see the world with my own eyes, not just in books. When Hickory Dock knocked you unconscious, I was afraid that I would lose you, and so that's why I decided to go my own way. Please do not worry for me, I may not be used to the outside world, but I can handle things by myself, I'm a big girl now. I promise I'll return when I'm done with my journey, but until then, I want you to know that…_

_I love you._

_See you later._

_Cloe_

When he was done reading, his heart just stopped.

* * *

"Ow, my feet!" Cloe groaned, sitting down and rubbing the soles of her feet.

They had come to the entrance to Golden Grove in such a short time, and luckily they had not run into any monsters. She was surprised that the landscape could change so dramatically. The grass changed from the brightest green to an olive color, tinted with a little yellow and orange, and the leaves of the trees were of golden, orange and yellow colors. The sunlight filtered through the trees, making the scenery look almost like a painting hanging in the wall.

"Here we are!" Drippy announced, hoping in excitement, "Golden Grove! A quick stroll through here, and we'll be out the other side and into the desert in no time! Tidy!"

"Jeepers creepers, just look at those giant mushrooms! IT's so different from the Deep Dark Wood…"

"It's…" Cloe, finally standing up, looked around in amazement, her tail twitching in wonder, "Beautiful. I had seen images in the books, but never in person."

"Wait until we cross over, Cat-Girl! You won't be seeing trees like these for a while!"

Drippy sighed, " Ahh, it's been a while since I dropped by. There's nostalgic! Full of fairies, this old place is. Shall I give the boys a shout?"

"Yes please, Mr. Drippy," Oliver nodded enthusiastically.

"More fairies! Cute!" Cloe squealed in delight, "Call them! Call them!"

Drippy turned around and yelled at the top of his lungs, "OOOOOOI! How do, booooys?! Anyone about?! It's me, Drippy!"

However, there was no reply. Only the sound of birds chirping, squirrels squeaking and monsters sneaking around.

"What?! No welcoming committee for the Lord High Lord of the Fairies?" Drippy spoke, "Something proper weird is going on, mun…"

"No fairies in town, and none in the forest neither." Cloe whispered, "What happened to all of them?"

Oliver said, "Maybe we should go deeper into the forest. We might be able to find out more there…"

"Well, since we're going that way anyway… Let's just push on through to Al Mamoon and see what we can see, shall we?" Drippy replied, turning around with one jump.

The trio advanced through the forest, through the golden-leafed trees, the giant mushrooms and crawling monsters. All the while, Cloe couldn't help but snuck into tiny hiding places she could find, not minding if her clothes got dirty. She had waited all her life for this moment, and she wanted to enjoy every second of it. She had no doubts her father would send someone to look for her and take her back home, so she had to enjoy whatever time she had left. However, she noticed there were a few trees that were withering away. They had no leaves, their barks were all opaque and they had no fruits or flowers in their branches. She wondered if those trees had reached their complete lifespan and were in the natural process of erosion.

When they came across the fungi seemingly blocking the way, she had the time of her life jumping on those mushrooms. But soon she started to realize that they were getting lost, the forest was like a natural labyrinth, and the paths could lead back to sections of the forest they had already visited if they were not careful.

Halfway through the forest, Oliver decided to try and pass time by speaking with the cat princess, "So, it's your… second time out?"

Cloe nodded, "Like I said before, when I was five daddy took me to Al Mamoon, but I don't even remember it, and he didn't let me play outside the Cowlipha's palace, anyway."

"He sounds overprotective…" Oliver giggled at the thought of King Tom panicking over his daughter's whereabouts.

"Don't remind me…" Cloe sighed sadly, "I don't know how he'll take the news that I've snuck out. I know he has probably found out right now."

"In that case, we better hurry, Cat-girl!" Drippy joined the conversation, "If whoever he sends to fetch sees we're with you, we'll be in hot water!"

"Like I said, I'll tell daddy that it was all my idea."

"Still…" Oliver looked down in thought, "Why did you want to leave your home in the first place? You and the King only have each other, right?"

The cat princess stopped when he made that question; she looked down at the ground in shame, her ears flattened against her head and her tail twitching in thought (Oliver assumed that catnids twitched their tail when they were thinking, relaxed or stressed about something). "I'm not sure myself," she spoke softly, "But one thing is for certain. I want to see the world," she looked into Oliver's dark gray eyes, "I want to go to Hamelin, Al Mamoon, meet fairies, maybe a dragon or two, but overall… I would like to go to Yule."

"Well, Cat-girl, if you're lucky maybe one of the Great Sages is there." Drippy spoke, "Don't you worry, we'll surely go to + those places while searching for the Sages."

Before they could move on, Cloe noticed something in the distance… It seemed to be like a hole in the ground, surrounded by trees and rocks. All plants surrounding the hole were completely dry, with not a single trace of green or golden, but a death brown.

"Guys!" she skipped ahead of her friends, heading towards the fountain, "That fountain it's all dried up!

Drippy let out a sigh of disappointment once they caught up to her, "Dearie, dearie me… This en't too pretty, is it? But now we know what the problem is, at least."

"We do…?" Oliver looked down at the fairy in confusion

"It's the Spring of Life," Cloe explained, ""It's what gave Golden Grove all of it's abundant flora, it was thanks to this pond that the forest was dubbed the Forest of Plenty."

"Hey, I was going to say that!" Drippy complained, but decided to leave it for later, "Anyway, the reason the fairies have scarpered and some of the trees are all withered is because the spring by here has run dry."

"Who would do such a thing?" Oliver inquired.

Cloe felt a shiver run down her spine as her ears twitched too a faint sound growing louder every second; footsteps, and judging by the force they hit the ground, she could assume the owner was big and heavy.

"Guys…" she stuttered, "I have the feeling the one responsible for this is about to appear."

Oliver looked at her, "Are you sure?"

"Trust her, mun, it's how these things always happen…"

The trio grew alarmed when birds started to fly out from some of the trees in the hill ahead of them, as if they were being frightened away by the mysterious culprit. Cloe caught sigh of red skin, giant antlers, a round shield…

When the owner of the footsteps came into view, she could swear she was about to faint; it was a bulky creature, with an elongated head on whose sides hung two humongous antlers of brown colors. It wore nothing but a collar of green and white metal, purple short pants with fluff edges, and sandy brown bracers on its forearms. In its right hand, it held a sword; in its left, a shield.

It was Gladiataur, the guardian of the Golden Grove.

"Crikey!" Drippy cried out, his voice trembling with hear, "He doesn't seem happy to see us!"

"I-I don't get it!" Cloe stammered, completely terrified of the beast before them, "He's supposed to be the guardian of Golden Grove! Why would he cause the spring to dry up!"

"For the same reason ouer royal friend got brokenhearted in the first place, Cat-girl! I've got the feelin' Shadar is behind this!"

When Gladiataur let out a piercing roar that made Cloe cover her ears in pain, it stomped its feet on the dirt and started walking towards her, as if deciding to take out the weakest member of the party first.

"Cloe!" Oliver called out his familiar, preparing for the incoming fight, "Call your familiar out!"

But the cat princess didn't listen.

She was completely frozen in fear.

She had never thought she would encounter beasts this large. Hickory Dock was one thing, but a guardian was out of the question; she wanted to scream, but her throat was dry. She wanted to run, but her legs wouldn't respond. She wanted to call Furry out, but she was blocked, like the first times she had failed to call him.

"Cat-girl!" Drippy cried out at the cat princess as he hopped away from the small battlefield, "Don't just stand there! If ya don't move, that bull face will be going after ya!"

Again, she didn't respond.

She could hear Oliver and Drippy calling out for her in worry, she heard the Gladiataur's footsteps and growls, she heard Oliver's Mite doing his best to keep the beast away from her. But soon, everything sounded like the rustling of the leaves on the trees around them, the slight breeze running through them; barely a whisper. In fact, it seemed more like some sort of dream.

Fear whispered in her ears, wrapping itself against her body like a snake, coiling up and forbidding her from running away.

Fear struck at the corners of her mind, and she barely knew where she was. She was too scared, not right in her mind at the moment, but inside herself. All that was left outside, controlling her chills, was terror, worry, unconfident and upset. She… She…

'_I'm…_'

… Broke down.

'… _Scared_…'

Suddenly, Cloe was no longer the sixteen-year old she normally was, and she felt herself feel terribly inferior, terribly scared and… just like a little kitten again, waking up from a nightmare and crying her heart out until her father rain into her room, held her close to him and comforted her.

… _Daddy… I'm scared… Can I sleep with you, tonight?_

Right now, Cloe wished she was back with her father, with Maora. Sometimes… Cloe Tildrum was just a kitten again.

She shook uncontrollably, unable to move.

She was scared… A scared little kitten again. But this time… there was no running to daddy. Because he was far away, and probably didn't know about the predicament they were in.

She failed to see Oliver and his familiar had been knocked aside, and she was completely exposed to the Gladiataur; she failed to see him raising his sword at her, failed to see ir bringing it down upon her at the speed of light.

"CLOE!"


End file.
